Blood and Steel
by Zazuki Kurosuki
Summary: What do you do when life kicks you in the teeth? It's something I've asked myself several times and the answer is always get back up. Triggering in public and being forced the join New Wave was not in my plans though.
1. Chapter 1

Several emotions coursed through me as I sit in the cold chair and spartan room. The cold metal of handcuffs feel like ice against my wrists. I scoff at the whole indignity of it all — I get tormented to the point of triggering and they treat me as a criminal. The room surrounding me is cement gray, completely utilitarian and cliche. Sitting across the table from me is a behemoth of a man, clad in blue power armor that clings to his body. Very slim but no doubt incredibly durable, considering the man in question. The armor is a vibrant blue color with white accents around the chest, arms, and legs. A neatly trimmed brown beard adorns the bottom half of his face, the upper half hidden by a pitch black visor. It's honestly unsettling looking into the cold black glass hiding the man's eyes. It makes him seem less than human; like a robot just following a script of actions.

His voice is a low baritone, and honestly it surprises me that it's just the right tone to be pleasant. However, his words are cold, lifeless. It's as if this is the very last thing he would want to be doing at the moment. "Hello Andrew, I assume you know why I am here talking with you?"

I level a glare towards the large armored man, a scoff leaving my lips before I could stop it. My open defiance certainly wouldn't be helping me anytime soon. "Of course I do." I jerk my hands to make the cuffs rattle, the sound echoing throughout the room. "You have a prime Wards candidate sitting right in front of you without having to search for it. Considering the fact that I fucking triggered publicly."

A frown crosses the man's face before it quickly returns to a stoic visage. "That is true. The Wards is a good opportunity for you. You'll get training, teammates, and compensation." He slides a stack of papers across the table towards me. "Sign these and you'll be released and we will start the introductory process."

I push the stack of forms back to Armsmaster. "And what if I choose not to join your group of child soldiers?"

A frown stays on Armsmaster's face this time. I obviously struck a nerve with my last statement. "You injured several minors before we captured you. A jail sentence or even a trip to the Birdcage wouldn't be a surprise."

I lean in with a smirk on my face. Armsmaster just talked himself into a corner with his most recent statement. The words leave my lips with ease and almost arrogance, "I want to speak with my lawyer." The large man stands up and leaves the room, leaving me with the victory in our verbal spar.

* * *

I am broken from my thoughts when the door to the interrogation room opens and a tall blonde woman enters. Her hair is quite obviously straightened, and she's wearing a formal pantsuit. I recognize her immediately. This is Carol Dallon, better known as the superhero Brandish. At first I was surprised that she was assigned to be my lawyer, but then it hits me. She knows I'm a public trigger and wants me on her team. New Wave has been unable to gain new members since the Fleur incident, and I'm a new member practically given to her on a silver platter. She takes a seat beside me and offers me her hand. "Hello Andrew, I'm Carol Dallon and I'll be representing you today."

I take her hand and shake it gently before sighing at my limited mobility due to the handcuffs. "I'm sure everyone in Brockton Bay knows who you are Mrs. Dallon. Due to your other job, that is. Now am I correct in guessing that you only came here because I happened to trigger in public."

Her wince is almost imperceptible but I do take notice of it. "It is true that the only reason I came personally is because of that fact, but I will not force you to make any decision you do not want to make. Though I do want to extend the offer to you."

"It's not like I have much choice in the matter Carol. The chances I actually live to my next birthday are slim when I'm a public cape with no team. I'll join your little team out of necessity since I have no intention on becoming a villain."

A frown settles on her face at my disrespectful attitude but I couldn't be bothered to care. She takes a few breaths to settle herself. "For now let's focus on getting you out of here and then we will go back to your parents' home to explain your next move."

"No way in hell. I'm legally emancipated and there is no fucking way you're making me go back to that hellhole." I vehemently shut down her suggestion. I would rather sit in a jail cell than return to that place.

She puts her hands up in front of her in a show of acceptance, obviously wanting to settle me down "That's alright Andrew, though I will need to see the paperwork proving that. I assume you have an apartment if you're emancipated."

I take a few breaths trying to settle myself. I know that she was most likely unaware of my current living situation, but it still bothers me to even think about that place. "Sorry about that. I have some very bad memories of my family. I would very much appreciate getting out of here though; I'm tired of being treated as a criminal."

"I will be talking with the PRT's lawyers and you should be out of here shortly. You've already been here for three hours and they cannot hold you for more than five without charging you with a crime. They have no chance of success in actually getting an assault charge to stick, with it being your trigger event. We have laws protecting you from that. I will be back shortly." With her piece said Carol stands up and exits the room leaving me with just my thoughts.

* * *

I rub my chafed wrists as the sun blinds me once we step out of the PRT headquarters. Carol Dallon is walking briskly beside me as we make our way into Brockton Bay proper. Parked next to the curb outside of the headquarters' barrier is a bright red sports car. A Porsche 911 turbo, and while I'm more of a muscle car man I absolutely adore this European masterpiece. My lawyer opens the driver's side door before calling out to me, "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get in?"

I smirk while walking around to the other side of the car. New Wave must really want me and a part of me loves that. I'm not used to actually being wanted. Sure, this is just because of my power but it is still a good feeling. I quickly fasten my seat belt and Carol pulls away from the curb. "I'll have you meet the rest of the team before I drop you back off at your apartment. You can send me a copy of your emancipation paperwork tomorrow."

I nod and look out the window, watching the city zip by me. It seems that even though she's a superhero she still likes speed. I can definitely respect that. If I owned a car like this I would definitely never go less than forty miles per hour. "That's fine with me. Can you give me a rundown of what you expect out of me?"

She shifts the car into a lower gear as she slows down. "Mainly we expect you to keep a clean image. Do well in class, don't break laws, and make appearances with the rest of the team. We won't force you into fighting crime but villains may push that issue."

"I won't lie, I was expecting more. I've always had unattainable goals thrust upon me and you're asking for the bare minimum. It feels too good to be true." I still don't trust them in the slightest, though my gut is telling me to believe in the hero sitting to my left. However, my seventeen years of life scream at me to keep them at arm's length.

She parks her car in the driveway of a rather plain house. It looks so textbook american family that I want to puke. I quickly step out of her car and stretch while Carol makes her way towards the doorway. I lethargically follow her inside. Does she not realise this is the worst day of my life? I want nothing more than to go home and sleep. I'm only doing this because I have no other choice and I don't want to alienate the few people who can keep me safe. I shake my thoughts away as I realise I am now standing in her parlor. I take a seat as she disappears upstairs, probably to gather the rest of her family. I sigh as I leaned back against the couch. Christ I hate introductions. I wouldn't say I'm antisocial but I definitely don't like new people.

I hear footsteps coming from the staircase to my left and put my thoughts to the side for the moment. The first person down the stairs is Carol, still dressed in her business suit, and she takes a seat in the chair across from me. Floating behind her is a teen in a ripped pair of jeans and a graphic tee that's probably two sizes too large for her. I honestly didn't expect Glory Girl to dress like this; I was expecting a preppy bitch, but it looks like I am wrong. Behind her is a tall man dressed semi formally. This was definitely Flashbang, I don't really know much about his civilian life as he is rarely seen out of costume. To my surprise Panacea is not present; perhaps she's at the hospital this evening.

I turn my attention back to Carol when I hear her speak up "Mark, Victoria, this is Andrew. He's a recent trigger and will be joining the team."

She keeps it short and sweet, not that I mind in the slightest. Victoria floats over to me and offers me her hand. "Hello Andrew, it's nice to meet you."

I can't help but smile as I take her hand and shake it. She's stunning. Actually I'm having trouble concentrating on anything but her. "H-hello Victoria it's nice to meet you." Something is wrong did I just fucking stutter.

I'm soon broken out of my trance by the sharp sound of Carol's voice, "Victoria, what have we talked about when it comes to your aura."

Victoria actually looks sullen at this, as if she had done something extremely wrong. She then speaks up, her voice low and apologetic, "Sorry, I'm still having a hard time controlling it. I let it out when I got excited about a new teammate."

Ah, so that's what her Glory feels like. I've seen it described on PHO but the experience is something else entirely. Perhaps my erratic emotional state caused a much worse reaction than normal, but that was suffocating. She is soon back to a much more cheerful look, which suits her much better. This time I can manage to tear my gaze away from her, but I can tell she is still gorgeous. "So Andrew, how long have you had your powers?"

I wince internally. It's an innocent enough question but the wound is still fresh. Hell, the bleeding had just barely stopped when Armsmaster entered my interrogation room. I take a few breaths and just as Carol is about to interrupt I speak, "Roughly five hours. Honestly I'm not in the greatest spot right now and am on the brink of a mental breakdown. So I'd really like to talk about anything besides my powers and how I got them."

This causes the room to go silent and my two new acquaintances turn to Carol. Mark is the one to speak up. His voice is quiet but holds authority as if commanding all to listen to him, "Carol, you thought it would be a good idea to have him meet new people on the day of his trigger event?"

The elder Dallon woman winces at the tone he has, shrinking back in her chair. "He seemed to be dealing with it quite well. It seemed like he would be able to do introductions before I took him back to his apartment."

"Apartment? Do you live on your own Andrew?" Victoria interrupts the two before the argument gets any further.

Honestly I'm glad she did, I'm not good around fights. Well at least nonviolent ones, I can definitely throw down when needed or wanted. I allow a smile to grace my lips. "Yeah, it's not the greatest. Just a little one bedroom down by the docks, but it's mine. My father and I are not on speaking terms so I live on my own now. My sister Claire comes over once a month from Boston just to check on me."

I stretch out a bit while the elder Dallons bicker quietly. I can't stay still for very long without getting restless. "It's been fun meeting you Victoria but I really should get home. It's been a long day."

Carol stands up, lightly brushing off her pants, which must be some kind of nervous tic. "I'll take you home then Andrew. We can talk more tomorrow, I'll be taking the day off and you can meet the rest of the team then."

I nod and follow her out the door, thinking to myself that just maybe things can be better now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait. It took me forever to get this chapter written and I'm still not quite happy with it. This shouldn't be a problem going forward because we will be getting into the plot in the next few chapters. Please enjoy**

* * *

I awaken to a loud banging coming from my front door. A loud groan leaves my lips as my heavy eyes drift towards my alarm clock. What the fuck? Six in the morning is not time to be awake on a fucking Saturday. I attempt to close my eyes once more, but the banging continues forcing me to rise to my feet. I don't bother getting dressed, whoever is banging on my door can deal with me just being in my boxers. I quickly stride towards my door and pull it open forcefully, before I even look to see who is here I'm nearly screaming "What the fuck do you want?"

It feels as if ice water is dumped upon me once I notice who was banging on my door. The long blonde hair is very distinctive. She is dressed much less casually today, a bright pink blouse showing just a hint of cleavage. Tight denim jeans stick to her legs, bright red lipstick accents her lips. Fuck. Victoria Dallon is standing in front of me. A hint of a blush is on her face as she gives me a once over. "U-uh I'm sorry Andrew. I know it's early."

I nod now being nearly speechless and can barely whisper out "Give me a moment please, you can come inside if you want to."

I turn around hiding the flush that came to my cheeks from the rather embarrassing situation I put myself in. I heard the door close behind me, Victoria must have walked in with me "I'm going to take a shower, you can make yourself at home"

I bring a change of clothes into my bathroom with me. I've made a complete fool of myself, though the embarrassment she obviously felt help assuage my own. I let out a content sigh as the hot water rains upon me. My shower is rather short, it would be rude to my guest if I were to take too long. I quickly brush my teeth after I dry off. My outfit is rather simple today, and it's much more suited to my personality than yesterday's.

It was originally a tee shirt for one of my favorite bands but I ripped the sleeves off haphazardly, leaving the openings frayed and jagged. An old ripped up pair of denim jeans, and a pair of chuck's cover my lower body and feet respectively. I put my diamond nose stud in and put on a couple of black wristbands. I run a brush through my hair and pull it back into a ponytail. I give myself a once over in the mirror before heading back out into the apartment proper.

Victoria is sitting on my couch fiddling with her phone. A bored look adorns her face "I'm sorry about that Victoria. I'm really not a morning person."

"Oh I could tell" her face when she sees me is priceless. A look of complete shock is on her face. God I love throwing people for a loop.

"What? It's not like I put eyeliner on today. I figured casual was fine" I allow a smirk to grace my lips.

She takes a moment to compose herself before speaking "I just wasn't expecting...this" She motions towards me causing me to chuckle.

"I know Vicky, this is the real me though. I'm done with pretending. They sure as fuck don't care if I conform in school, so why should I care when I'm on my own time." I look off to the side trying to fight back some of my darker thoughts.

I'm shocked when I feel two arms wrap around me gently for a moment. In that moment emotions bubbled to the surface, tears came to my eyes. Acceptance. Something I've so desperately craved but never truly got. Outside of my sister that is. "Andrew you're my teammate now which means we're going to be practically family. I won't ever force you to be something you're not. I've got your back."

I wipe the still forming tears out of my eyes and take a deep breath trying to settle myself. "Thank you Vicky. That really means a lot to me."

Victoria just smiles at me, I'm glad I didn't judge her based on what PHO had to say about her. She's very nice and genuine, "Alright, are you ready to go Andrew? Mom is waiting back at home."

I nod and we walk out of my apartment, I make sure to lock the door before leaving. The apartment complex is honestly a dump and is filled with what I assume are ABB wannabes. It's probably why the rent is so cheap. I've been accosted a few times going up to my apartment but nothing too serious. Victoria and I step outside and it's just as bad as the interior. "So how are we getting back to your house?" My face turns white when I see the smirk cross appear on her lips.

* * *

I playfully smack her shoulder once we land in front of her house causing her to let out a hearty laugh. If there is anything I really hate it's heights, and she just flew me over from the Docks. "Christ, Vicky I fucking hate heights."

"I don't see how you can. It's totally freeing." Vicky brushes off my concern with a wave of her hand as we walk into her home.

I reply as I take my shoes off, wouldn't want to be a rude guest, "You also can fly. I cannot and therefore will die if I fall from that height."

"Oh come on I'm a Brute, there is no way I would drop you. Honestly you're incredibly light I wasn't expecting that." Vicky pouted as she puts her hands on her hips "You probably weigh less than I do."

I shrug as I go sit on the couch "I wouldn't say it's incredibly healthy you probably felt I'm all bone."

Vicky sits beside me putting a reassuring hand on my knee "Andrew I was just having fun with you. Yeah you're slight but I wouldn't say you're all bone." A pink hue appears on her face "Even if it was unintentional I saw you shirtless and what I saw wasn't all bone"

I chuckle as I brush her hand off my knee "Yeah you certainly didn't see the best side of me this morning."

A teasing smirk appears on her face "Oh I wouldn't say that. You're rather cute when grumpy."

I give her a lighthearted glare "I'm many things but cute is certainly not one of them. Punk rock is more my style."

"Who said that can't be cute?" She lets out a laugh at my continued glare "Come on, am I not allowed to tease my new friend?"

I shrug with a soft smile on my lips "I'm difficult." Our back and forth is soon interrupted as Carol comes into the room. Shit, Brandish not Carol she's in costume I'll have to get used to using cape names quickly.

Brandish gives me a once over and I slightly shrink under her gaze, while I don't want to conform, I also don't want to be outright antagonistic towards one of my team's leaders. "You seem much more at ease today Andrew. It's good to see you relaxed."

I let out a breath that I subconsciously held I visibly seem to relax once she put me at ease "I am much more relaxed today Brandish. I feel much more comfortable, though it's still all so surreal. Not only do I have powers but I'm also part of a team now."

I take a breath watching their patient expressions for a moment before continuing, "I honestly feel better than I have in years. Perhaps I'm hiding and burying my feelings even to myself, but right now I feel on top of the world. Anyways, aren't we meeting the rest of the team today?"

Brandish nods as we stand up to walk out the door, "Yes we are Andrew. We are going to have to get you a costume and figure out a cape name as well. You'll be given practically free range on your options, but be sure to pick a costume that is similar to ours." She gestures to the bodysuits that she and Flashbang are both wearing "And to also pick a fairly PR friendly name. We want to give off the aura of heroes not dangerous vigilanties."

We continue to talk as we walk down the street, several civilians takes pictures with their phones as we walk past them. I notice that we are heading in the direction of the warehouses by the Docks. "You do realize that my power isn't very PR friendly right?"

Brandish nods brusquely while Vicky speaks up "What are your powers anyways Andrew?"

Just before we walk into one of the warehouses I reply "Complete and total manipulation of blood. I can make blades sharper than metal or make it explode. I also seemingly have an endless supply of blood in my body. I should have bled out from my trigger event but didn't. I can use other people's blood as well but only when it's outside of their body. I'm hoping to use that in a healing role."

Vicky raises an eyebrow at that "How are you planning on doing that?"

"People are in the hospital all the time from lacerations, I can force their blood to stay in their body and possibly help save victims doctor's wouldn't be able to otherwise. I'm nowhere in the same stratosphere as Panacea but I can do some good." Victoria gains a somewhat solemn look when the subject of her sister came up. I wonder what happened between them, I hadn't heard anything on PHO or the news about it.

The first person I see is none other than Panacea. I doubt there's a single person on the planet who couldn't recognize her. She's a mousey looking redhead, she seems slightly guarded but not completely unconfident like PHO has described her as. Perhaps whatever happened between Vicky and Panacea caused this change in her.

My attention then drifts towards the rest of the group that she is with. I immediately recognize Lady Photon and Manpower. I've seen plenty of recorded footage of Lady Photon fighting Purity and to be honest I had a bit of a crush on her back when I was a kid. Standing beside the two is a tall blonde woman, if I had to guess she's probably a year or two older than I am. This must be Laserdream, I don't know too much about her but that will probably change with time. Then there is a young man with bright blue hair standing beside Laserdream. The faintest hint of a blush appears on my face. Damn he's handsome. I fight back the slight butterflies swirling around in my stomach, this is definitely not the time for foolish attraction.

I take a breath before stepping in towards the second group of people. I allow a smile to grace my lips as I speak up "Hello, my name is Andrew and thanks to Brandish here I'll be joining the team. Please treat me well."

Lady Photon strides towards me her body oozing confidence as she does so. She extends her hand to me with a smile on her face, I take her hand and shake it lightly. Her voice is soft and soothing, no wonder PHO calls her Photon Mom "It's good to have you on the team Andrew. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

I introduce myself to each member individually and to be honest it's rather dull. Laserdream, whose real name is Crystal, just introduced herself before looking back to her phone. Shielder, who I found out is named Eric, tried some small talk but the two of us are far too different in personality. Such a shame, I was hoping with his blue hair that he'd be a bit more fringe. However, it seems that his unique hair color was just to stand out from his family. Amy was by far the most interesting, the two of us talked for a few minutes away from everyone else. Neither of us are very good in crowds and standing off to the side while the rest of New Wave converse was to our liking. She was very short and sarcastic with me, but I honestly liked that. It wasn't rude or anything, it was more like friendly banter which was quite refreshing.

The most surprising part was when Amy made comment about my shirt. It turns out that Amy is very much into punk rock and metal music. I never would have guessed that the shy mousy girl would be a secret rebel. I am torn away from my conversation when Brandish speaks up "Andrew, Amelia come on over here. It's time to work out a cape name and costume design."

Several minutes of arguing ensues, I honestly had no heroic sounding names come to mind. My power is much more suited for a villain. Vlad was the only thing that came to mind, and being named after The Impaler is not very heroic. Everyone quiets down when Amy speaks up "What about Ichor? The blood of the gods, it's not inherently villainous"

"It's a bit arrogant but I like it. Thank you Amy I think I'll go with Ichor." I take a moment to look at everyone else's reactions. Nobody seems to be against it so I'm in the clear for now. "As for costume I have an idea already."

Vicky flashes me a brilliant smile "Lay it on us, just promise me it's not all black and edgy"

I give her a half hearted glare as I cross my arms over my chest "I'll have you know I look good in black." Soft chuckling can be heard all around me and it feels good. I missed friendly banter, good hearted ribbing is something I haven't had since middle school. "But no there's no black. I was thinking base red. It will help hide my blood if it splashes on me, it won't look good if I'm wearing a white bodysuit and it's coated in blood."

Brandish gives me a curt nod "While I don't like the different color, I do agree it's much more practical, and safer for our image, if you wear red."

"I was thinking it should be sleeveless. I need to be bleeding in order for my power to be of any use, and it seems pointless for me to keep cutting my sleeves. I think a golden blood cell should be my insignia with my name being Ichor."

Brandish rubs her brow and sighs "Your powerset is a PR nightmare. A teenage hero cutting his wrists is not going to look good for us. I'm going to have to ask you to stay out of most fights, help out at the hospital when you can"

I frown quite unhappy with her comment "My power can do some serious damage Brandish. I could really help some people if someone like Hookwolf is running loose. I won't run looking for trouble but I'm not going to let those Nazi fucks think they can terrorize the city without reprocussion."

"I assume that's the best I'm going to get out of you. We'll have your costume made within the week and then you can officially debut." Brandish sighs causing me to smirk. I always loved being difficult.

"If that's going to be it I think I'll be leaving, I have to work in an hour." I pull out my phone to check the time.

Lady Photon steps forward "Did Brandish not tell you? While it's technically not allowed, heroes can take spoils of war from criminals. As long as it's not drugs or weapons it's free game here in Brockton Bay. So if you wish you can be a full time hero and still receive a paycheck."

I never thought that a hero would be telling me to skirt the rules, Brandish seemed to be frowning at Lady Photon. Ah, Brandish doesn't like that Lady Photon was telling me to live in a gray area. As a lawyer she probably sees the world in black and white which is bullshit. "Thank you for letting me know Lady Photon, but until I see how stable my income can be I'll stick with my mundane job. I don't want to lose my apartment and become homeless."

Vicky immediately speaks up "You do realize that you are welcome to live with us right? You're part of the team now."

A smile tugs at my lips, Vicky really is too nice for her own good. A little clueless and dense but nice nonetheless "I do now, but I like my freedom. So unless something drastic happens I think I'll stay as is. It was nice meeting you all but I do have to get going"

I turn around and walk out with a smile stretched across my face. Things seem to be going well for me for the first time in a long time. I just hope the other shoe never drops.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey sorry for the long wait but I had lost my muse for a while. But I have recaptured that fleeting thing and here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

I smile as I walk through the Boardwalk, it's freeing walking through an area in Brockton Bay that is relatively crime free. Uber and Leet will do one of their shows around the outskirts about once a week, but nothing major normally came from it. The only major threat is the unpowered members of the Empire, and even then very few injuries and deaths resulted from their crimes. I am certainly grateful for the luck I have for the location of my job. I walk in through the front door of a music shop. Well, music shop isn't quite the correct label. Music, movies, books, almost any form of entertainment can be found on the shelves here.

"What's up Andrew?" My attention turns to the front counter, a semicircular counter that comes up to my chest. Leaning against the counter is a short, green haired girl. Her hair is a short pixie cut, her eyes are a brilliant blue. Every part of her is small, her nose, her mouth and even her lips. She isn't traditionally attractive but to me she is beautiful. All in all you wouldn't expect someone this small to be such a feisty drummer, but she is probably the best in the city. She's certainly the best I've heard.

My smile widens a bit and I walk over to the counter, I lean in a little resting my arms on the counter across from her. "Not much Stace, just getting used to all of this."

There isn't much point in me trying to hide anything from her. While she's putting on quite a good front I can clearly see the concern in her eyes. She knows about my trigger event and is worried about me. "Anastasia, I'm alright. Well about as alright as I can be considering what happened. I'm still here."

A ghost of a whisper escapes her lips "For how long? You weren't in the greatest of places before this."

Her face was covered in a mask of sadness and I recoil in regret. She was the one who found me earlier this year and it stuck with her. I brush my lips against her forehead and take her hands in mine "Anastasia Demidova I swear to you I'm not going to make another attempt."

I take a breath and pull back once I see the color return to her face along with the faintest hint of a smile gracing her lips, good she's much prettier when she isn't on the verge of tears. Plus we're in public and I'd hate for anyone to walk into that. "Anyways, I've got to get on the clock. I'll be right back."

I step away from her and walk towards the back of the store and go through a door marked plainly with an employee's only sign. The room is rather small, just two cabinets and five lockers. I quickly unlock my own to grab my name tag. I pin it to tank top before clocking in on the machine attached to the wall beside the door. I take a deep breath before walking back into the store proper and going back to the front counter. Anastasia smiles as her eyes land on me "Alright boss, what's the plan for today?"

An audible groan leaves my lips at her question. She knows I hate it when she calls me that "Stace, I'm just the shift leader I'm not your boss. I don't sign your paychecks that's David's job."

A light laugh is her only response to me, I should know better than to respond to her attempts to rile me up. "That's true enough but still you're the one in charge of what we do today. David is off today."

I take a seat behind the counter as I pull out my phone, a gentle smirk graces my lips "We aren't going to do anything unless a customer comes in. Inventory was done the other day and our next shipment won't come in until Thursday."

A relieved sigh emanates from my companion "Thank God, I don't feel like doing much of anything."

"Neither do I especially with our gig tonight. I've been looking forward to it all month." I respond lazily as I continue to play on my phone.

"You're still down for that? I thought you'd want time to relax." Stace sits down beside me placing a hand on my knee "You know that you don't have to force yourself right?"

I sigh and gently brush her hand off my knee "Honestly I need this. A distraction and a damned good one at that. Plus I love being on stage, it's freeing."

My blood runs cold when I hear a light voice to my left just outside of my peripheral vision. The bell hasn't worked on the door for weeks so I didn't even hear them come in. "What's this about a gig Andrew?"

I slowly turn and to my dismay standing there is none other than Victoria and Amelia Dallon. Shit. I would have rathered have kept some of my life a bit private from New Wave. "Oh hey Vicky, Amy. How are you two"

Stace subtly smacks my arm and I waved her off silently asking her to wait a minute "We are fine, but don't dodge the question. Do you have some kind of performance to do?"

I sigh to myself having realized that Vicky wouldn't let this go anytime soon, I run a hand through my hair as I respond "I do, I'm in a band and there's a rock festival starting tonight in the boat graveyard. A bunch of local bands from the area will be there."

Amy is the one who speaks up first to my surprise, her eyes hold a hint of interest. She steps up to the counter gently leaning against it "Oh you're in a band? What do you play?"

I can tell something is far different with her now compared to the meeting we had earlier. Her hair is straightened, no longer a mop of curly locks. And is that makeup? There isn't much but it is definitely noticeable. A faint hint of lipstick and concealer, nothing overtly obvious but I pick up on this sort of thing. "We play hard rock, I'm the vocalist and Stace here is on drums." I point back behind me towards Anastasia with my thumb.

Amy nods with a smile she seems much more at ease now than earlier maybe it has something to do with Carol? "Well what time is your show I'd love to hear you play."

My face turns white as Vicky seems to start bouncing at Amy's question, "Ooh yeah, we could all go to support you Andrew."

I rub my forehead ridding myself of the newly forming headache. I want to deny the two girls but with how excited they look I just can't do that. Vicky is absolutely glowing with excitement and Amy seems to be putting her best foot forward in regards to us meeting. "Fine, our set starts at six. You'll see the huge stage out in the park just outside of the Boardwalk. Tickets should still be available."

This causes a small cheer to come from the two girls and they whirl around quite obviously ready to prepare for the concert and leave the store. A small chuckle leaves my lips, they were so excited that they forgot what they came to the store for. Stace coughs once causing me to turn to her "So how do you know Glory Girl and Panacea?"

"Long story short, I'm the newest member of the New Wave I'll be making my debut within the next few days. Just as soon as I get an official costume that is." I sit back down beside her flipping through my phone at a lazy pace.

She raises an eyebrow "You're going to be a hero? I wouldn't have expected that from you Andrew. What's your cape name going to be?"

"Ichor, you know because of the blood powers. It was the least threatening name we could think of at the moment. And honestly it kind of fits, I like it at least"

"That's all that really matters, stay safe out there Andrew you're my best friend I don't want to see you get hurt." Stace's hand rests on my bicep a familiar feeling of comfort goes through me. Anastasia has always been there for me, since the day my douchebag of a father kicked me out of the house. I rest my hand on top of hers and give it a gentle squeeze, I don't say anything because I don't really need to. We get each other, we don't always need words to communicate. We sit there for a while just basking in the reassuring feeling of the other person. There is something magical about being touched by someone who truly cares about you. It can make all your fears and worries disappear. Just the feeling of another person by your side, it's as if subconsciously your mind is put at ease from the horror of the world. After a few moments I move my hand, longing courses through me. It had never been the right time for the two of us to be together, Anastasia has always been popular with both the guys and girls, and I never made a move on her. Always too afraid to put our friendship at risk, too afraid to open myself up further. Fear has always ruled my life, though I've done very well at hiding that. Honestly, this whole thing terrifies me. Being a cape, especially one without a secret identity. So much could go wrong, after my attempt I realized that no matter how shit my life was I didn't want it to end. Disgust is another emotion that I'm well acquainted with. Specifically self-disgust, I should be finished with fear. I should be numb to it at this point, but still the knife of fear is just as sharp as ever. It still raged within my inner psyche, threatening to take over my thoughts. I take a breath and stand up deciding that the best way to fight the fear is motion, to put my body into motion and remove the restless thoughts from my mind. I look to Anastasia, a questioning look on her face. Her eyebrows are raised slightly and a bit of worry evident in her eyes. Her face slowly turns into a grin as I send a smile her way, that is much better.

The day went by slowly, customers were few and far between and after a tortuous eight hours it is two in the afternoon. Desmond and Michael come in allowing myself and Anastasia to leave, the first thing we do is go to her house. Thankfully her parents were at work, we never would have gotten to leave if that were the case. Anastasia's mother dotes on me whenever I showed up to her house. And since my attempt the affection has doubled, she treated me as she would have her own son. The house must have cost a fortune in Brockton Bay, two stories and a white picket fence. It's the perfect representation of American Suburbia. The best way to describe the interior is cozy, the house seems definitively lived in. Not to say that the house is a mess, Anastasia's mother would never allow it to go that far. However, jackets lay across the headrest of the couch, the dishes in the kitchen are left sitting in the strainer completely clean but not returned to the cabinets. Pictures litter the walls in small frames. Pictures of Anastasia from various points in her life, pictures of her sister Karina could be seen as well. In one picture Karina is dressed in a blue cap and gown as she graduated from Brockton Bay University. This was a couple of years ago, it was shortly after I met Anastasia.

If I remember correctly I met Anastasia just before our Freshman year, that was back when I was still in the closet so to speak. I grew up in a very religious home, my father is a hardcore Catholic and not the nice kind. He's very Old Testament about things, and I didn't want to disappoint him at the time. He was my dad after all, he taught me how to throw a baseball, I loved him. I knew that he would never be able to handle having a son who is bisexual. He would immediately disown me, and I really didn't want to be how I am at that time. Guilt followed me everywhere, I hated that I was wired the way I was. Anastasia is how I knew that I wasn't completely gay, the moment I laid eyes on her my heart skipped a beat. Her boyfriend at the time was also quite the specimen, the two of us hit it off immediately. We bonded over our shared love of music back then she was the perfectly normal pre-teen. Pure blonde hair without a hint of dye, the only piercings were two small earrings, and not even the faintest trace of makeup could be seen. I was quite the same actually, my hair was a shade of brown and my clothing was just a mediocre. We brought out the best parts of ourselves and within days we were fast friends. There wasn't a day that went by without the two of us making time to meet. It was probably the reason that several of her relationships ended so quickly which I do feel bad about. I know for a fact it's why a few of mine had ended.

I am broken out of my reverie when I hear Anastasia run back down the stairs, she had changed out of her work clothes. Now she was wearing a denim vest opened, underneath was a plain black tank top. Her jeans could barely be considered clothes at this point with how shredded the fabric was. When I see the smirk on her face I blush a brilliant red, I had been ogling her for the past thirty seconds and had been caught red handed. I look to the left and cough into my arm trying to play it off causing a laugh to escape her lips. It was light and melodic, a sound that I definitely loved to hear. "Well that answers my question then Andrew, I guess I look good. Let's get going Shay and Darren are already at the festival grounds."

I only nod unable to formulate words at the moment, Anastasia is absolutely breathtaking. The look of a rebel definitely fits her. Perhaps my viewpoint is biased but Anastasia is by far the hottest girl I've met. We walk side by side out of the house and downtown, slowly the area around us becomes much more upper class. My body stiffens as this happens though, this area is not the safest for me. This area of Brockton Bay is heavily patrolled by the Empire, I seriously doubt that for the next few miles there will be anyone but straight white people. Hopefully my trigger hasn't been publicized too much yet. I don't have cable so I'm unsure if I've been on the news or not, preferably I wouldn't have been. It was a couple of Empire wannabes that caused my trigger in the first place, so being in practically the heart of their territory was not helping my anxiety. The feeling of a soft slender hand holding mine breaks my train of thought completely. The nails were painted black and my eyes trail up the arm until I'm looking into Anastasia's eyes. I give her a small nod, she knew just how to calm me down. Plus it also works as a deterrent just in case some Empire goon sees me, they may just walk on by if I'm holding a girl's hand. I let out a sigh of relief once we cross the Empire's territory into an area controlled by the PRT. We had gotten a few odd looks but the two of us made it out of Empire territory without being accosted thankfully. Our hands never part, even after making it into a much safer part of town for me. The blare of music hits my ears and a large smile spreads across my face. I am in my element now, our pace quickens as we make it to the venue. We both flash our performer's badges and make it in the back entrance to the venue. There was only one stage this time but it was massive, my band had never played a gig this large before. It would be a huge test for ourselves, without a doubt a few record labels would have representatives here. I let go of Anastasia's hand as I spot our fellow bandmates, one is a tall blonde girl dressed in all white. Shay is a fairly peppy girl which completely runs counterintuitive to our music style, but she can absolutely shred on guitar. She bounds over to me and wraps her arms around me. My own wrap around her slender frame for a moment before she pulls back smiling. "Glad to see you here Andrew"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world Shay" I grin as I nod towards Darren, Shay's boyfriend and our resident bassist. Darren is a man of few words and he only grunts with a slight nod of his head. I've known him for roughly two years now and I've probably only heard him say about five sentences in that time span. The two of them are both older than Anastasia and I, Shay is twenty-five and Darren is twenty. They're the only reason we are able to get any sort of event let alone one this size. I really do owe the two of them a lot, Darren even set me up in my apartment for cheap. We set up in the corner of a tent with the rest of our equipment, and go over our setlist for the day. It would be the longest set we've ever done, an hour long and it was going to be a grind that I was sure of. With that finished I go into one of the chests and pull out a fishnet shirt, I smirk towards Shay and kiss her cheek. "Thanks Shay did you lock up my apartment after leaving?"

"Of course I did Andrew. Now get changed quickly they're setting us up now" Shay stretches lightly before walking to the tent's exit. I curse under my breath as I quickly shed my shirt before sliding on the long sleeve fishnet shirt. I let out a few breaths and hear the crowd cheer as I assume my bandmates take the stage. I close my eyes and start to move towards the exit as I hear Anastasia start to pound on the drums. A fast powerful beat seemingly altering my heart's rhythm to be in tune with her drumbeat. I walk over to the stage and once Shay starts to riff on the guitar I take the stage. I feel a grin tug at my lips as I make my way to the microphone stand. I bang my head in time with the drum beat as I take a hold of the microphone. I lean in close rasping out into the mic "Am I going insane?" Anastasia then echos out into her microphone stationed in front of her mouth "Insane"

I rock my head to the side for just a beat before snapping back out towards the crowd now nearly screaming "My blood is boiling inside of my veins." I can hear the murmuring of the crowd rise and a beat later return to the rasping whisper "An evil feeling attacks." Anastasia echoes my rasp with a mutter of "Attacks". A beat later I snap back to the crowd smirking as I yell out "My body's shaking there's no turning back." I start to rock back and forth to the beat pointing my hand out in a gun formation "So take your eye off the trigger." I spread my arms out wide and a beat later I sing "I'm not to blame if your world turns to black." I close my eyes looking down slightly and point my fingers to my eyes "As your eyes start to blister" I then lower my voice to a growl getting closer to the mic so I can be heard clearly "So here we are." I snatch the mic off the stand "I'm in your head" I then scream into the microphone as the beat finishes it's crescendo "I'm in your heart." I draw out the final word and start banging my head once again before snapping back to the crowd pointing a finger out towards them "You. Were told. To. Stay away." A smirk plastered on my face as I sing "Soak. The place. Ignite the flame." I quickly point back out to the crowd "Pay. The price for your betrayal." Anastasia sings out "Your betrayal" which I quickly echo into the mic with a scream. I snap my head back up putting my hand over my heart "I. Was told. To stay away." I draw out the final word and take a short breath "Those two words I can't obey." I look to the side for a beat before snapping back towards the crowd pointing my finger out "Pay the price for your betrayal." Anastasia softly echoes out as I scream "Your. Be. Trayal."

The crowd is positively buzzing at this point a large mosh pit forming in front of the stage a grin spreads further across my face. I feel completely freed, there are no worries flowing through me anymore. My voice turns back to the raspy whisper as I reach the bridge "Is it my turn to die?" I look to the side as I sing this and then snap back towards the crowd my voice now desperate and needing "My heart is pounding as I say goodbye." I place a hand over my heart as I start to dance my voice back to the raspy whisper "So now I dance in the flames." I suddenly pop up gripping the mic with both hands "I love you crying and screaming my name. You said that we'd be forever. How could you kill me and lie to my face. Now that we can't be together. There's just not hope for our final embrace." Once again I stretch out the final word my voice lowers in tone "So here we are, I'm in your head." I take a deep breath before screaming into the mic "I'm in your heart."

I repeat the chorus once more the crowd now bouncing on their feet mimicking my own motion. The feeling of elation rises in my body and within two minutes we finish the song. The crowd erupts into cheers. My eyes scanned the crowd and my heart catches in my throat as I see the entire younger generation of the New Wave standing just behind where the mosh pit was. They stood out from the rest of the crowd, not just because they were all for some reason prettier than most anyone around them. They also were dressed completely differently than the more alternative crowd, the only one who even slightly fit in is Amelia. She is wearing a flannel shirt with the sleeves cut off, ripped jeans and a pair of converse on her feet. I didn't expect them to actually come, nor did I want them to at the time. But standing up here now seeing them cheering me on actually felt good I quickly snap out of my thoughts as we move to our next song.

The set went incredibly well, the crowd was definitely into our music which would hopefully lead to future sets for us as a group. With a bow, we leave the stage heading out back as the crew takes down our equipment. We went back to the tent and I sit down on one of the chests with a sigh of exhaustion. A thin sheen of sweat coats my body and I quickly grab a bottle of water and gulp it down greedily. The lukewarm water soothes my aching throat, I smile as I look over my bandmates and in a raspy whisper speak out "That was incredible, we were awesome"

The three in front of me nod tiredly, most people don't know just how physically taxing playing music can be. Especially when you're up there for an hour, even more so when you're playing something high tempo. They sit down around me and we just relax for a while, after a few minutes I stand up and stretch. "I'm going out to the crowd, I want to enjoy the festival for a bit."

I look over to Anastasia but she just waves me off, apparently she just wanted to relax for now and I didn't mind in the slightest. I nod to my band as I leave the tent heading out past security and into the crowd. I make my way to the pit section. Standing towards the back of the area is the rest of the younger New Wave generation. Vicky smiles as her eyes met mine and bounds over and takes me into a short hug. As she pulls back from the hug a teenager of average height walks over to her side taking a hold of her hand. He has short cropped black hair and pure white skin, his eyes are a deep amber and with his large smile I could see the perfectly white teeth filling his mouth. I send a nod towards him as he extends his hand in greeting. I grip his hand firmly, not trying to squeeze it tightly but also not being limp wristed about the shake. Our hands shake once before we retract our hands. "I'm Dean Stansfield, Vicky is my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you Dean." I turn to look to the rest of the group and smile. I slide my hands into my pockets, barely able to accomplish that feat with how tight the denim is against my body. "Thanks for coming to see me perform. So how did you all enjoy it?"

Vicky looks to the side with an uncertain look on her face, a look shared by Crystal and Dean while Amy and Eric both nod causing me to chuckle. "Let me guess not your cup of tea? Don't worry this sort of music isn't for everyone. I won't be offended if you didn't like it, you being here supporting me is more than I could ask for."

Vicky smiles wrapping her free arm around my shoulder for a moment, I take a deep breath to calm myself as I feel her aura flow over me. Dean fixes her with a look and pinches her side, she rubs her sigh and glares at him for a moment before realization crosses her features and she moves to apologize but I hold my hand up stopping her. "Don't, it isn't your fault and I know you're trying to control it. Let's just acknowledge it and move on with no hurt feelings." I smile softly and move over to Amy she holds her fist out to me and I bump it with my own. The two of us talk for a minute discussing the set list and which song she liked the best. "Oh I liked your opening song the best, it seemed to be the one you guys were the most comfortable with." I was going to reply but a loud boom echoes in my ears, a stinging pain erupts through my left side. I drop to my knees groaning in pain as I rest my hand on my side. I look to my hand and swear as I see the blood sticking to my skin. Amy is kneeling to my side in an instant, her face a mask of professionalism, her hand touches my mine and I immediately feel a bit of relief floods through my body. I look around and see people running their mouths open in a scream but I can hear nothing but a ringing thrum. I let them lay me down, Eric and Crystal take to the sky helping guide people away from the venue. Dean stabilizes my head keeping me from looking down towards my injury, Vicky goes to my side and I let out a scream of pain as I feel something move in my left side. That scream is immediately disrupted as I feel the pain simply disappear. My eyes flutter feeling as if a weight is forcing the eyelids down. And soon my world is flooded with darkness.


End file.
